A.o. Smith Corporation

Kedar D Dimble

Brian Thomas Branecky

Ray Oliver Knoeppel

Andrew William Phillips

Yonggon Lee

Christopher Glynne Townsend

A water heater includes a tank configured to hold a fluid, a sacrificial anode located within the tank, and a controller coupled to the sacrificial anode. The controller is configured to selectively complete and break an electrical circuit connecting the tank and the sacrificial anode. The controller is also configured to measure a shorted anode current through the electrical circuit, to determine a modulation duty cycle based on a current setpoint and the measured shorted anode current, and to repeatedly complete and break the electrical circuit using the modulation duty cycle.

Sacrifical anode control for a water heater

Methods and systems for water heater system receiving electrical power from an electrical grid. The system includes an electronic processor configured to monitor an average water temperature of the water within a water tank of the system based on a first and second signal from an upper and lower temperature sensor, operate an upper heating element heating an upper portion of the tank and a lower heating element heating a lower portion of the tank in a first operation mode, receiving, via a transceiver, either an add load command or a shed load command from a grid controller, operating the upper heating element and lower heating element in a second mode in response to receiving the add load command, and operating the upper heating element and lower heating element in a third mode in response to receiving the shed load command.

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Brookfield, WI, United States of America

Kedar D Dimble